"The world looks to the priest, because it looks to Jesus! No one can see Christ; but everyone sees the priest, and through him they wish to catch a glimpse of the Lord! Immense is the grandeur of the Lord! Immense is the grandeur and dignity of the priest!"
(Bl. John Paul II, Rome, Italy, October 13, 1979)

Monday, February 11, 2013

Apostolic Exhortation on the Formation of Priests in the Circumstances of the Present Day - Pope John Paul II (1992) Part 12

Serving the Church and the World

16. The priest's fundamental relationship is to Jesus
Christ, head and shepherd. Indeed, the priest participates in a specific and
authoritative way in the "consecration/anointing" and in the
"mission" of Christ (cf. Lk. 4:18-19).
But intimately linked to this relationship is the priest's relationship with
the Church. It is not a question of "relations" which are merely
juxtaposed, but rather of ones which are interiorly united in a kind of mutual
immanence. The priest's relation to the Church is inscribed in the very
relation which the priest has to Christ, such that the "sacramental
representation" to Christ serves as the basis and inspiration for the
relation of the priest to the Church.

In this sense the synod fathers wrote: "Inasmuch as he
represents Christ the head, shepherd and spouse of the Church, the priest is
placed not only in the Church but also in the forefront of the Church. The
priesthood, along with the word of God and the sacramental signs which it
serves, belongs to the constitutive elements of the Church. The ministry of the
priest is entirely on behalf of the Church; it aims at promoting the exercise
of the common priesthood of the entire People of God; it is ordered not only to
the particular Church but also to the universal Church (Presbyterorum Ordinis,
10), in communion with the bishop, with Peter and under Peter. Through the
priesthood of the bishop, the priesthood of the second order is incorporated in
the apostolic structure of the Church. In this way priests, like the apostles,
act as ambassadors of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:20).
This is the basis of the missionary character of every priest."(28)

Therefore, the ordained ministry arises with the Church and
has in bishops, and in priests who are related to and are in communion with
them, a particular relation to the original ministry of the apostles - to which
it truly "succeeds" - even though with regard to the latter it
assumes different forms.

Consequently, the ordained priesthood ought not to be
thought of as existing prior to the Church, because it is totally at the
service of the Church. Nor should it be considered as posterior to the
ecclesial community, as if the Church could be imagined as already established
without this priesthood.

The relation of the priest to Jesus Christ, and in him to
his Church, is found in the very being of the priest by virtue of his
sacramental consecration/anointing and in his activity, that is, in his mission
or ministry. In particular, "the priest minister is the servant of Christ
present in the Church as mystery, communion and mission. In virtue of his
participation in the 'anointing' and 'mission' of Christ, the priest can
continue Christ's prayer, word, sacrifice and salvific action in the Church. In
this way, the priest is a servant of the Church as mystery because he actuates
the Church's sacramental signs of the presence of the risen Christ. He is a
servant of the Church as communion because - in union with the bishop and
closely related to the presbyterate - he builds up the unity of the Church community
in the harmony of diverse vocations, charisms and services. Finally, the priest
is a servant to the Church as mission because he makes the community a herald
and witness of the Gospel."(29)

Thus, by his very nature and sacramental mission, the priest
appears in the structure of the Church as a sign of the absolute priority and
gratuitousness of the grace given to the Church by the risen Christ. Through
the ministerial priesthood the Church becomes aware in faith that her being
comes not from herself but from the grace of Christ in the Holy Spirit. The
apostles and their successors, inasmuch as they exercise an authority which
comes to them from Christ, the head and shepherd, are placed - with their
ministry - in the fore front of the Church as a visible continuation and
sacramental sign of Christ in his own position before the Church and the world,
as the enduring and ever new source of salvation, he "who is head of the
Church, his body, and is himself its savior" (Eph. 5:23).

17. By its very nature, the ordained ministry can be carried
out only to the extent that the priest is united to Christ through sacramental
participation in the priestly order, and thus to the extent that he is in
hierarchical communion with his own bishop. The ordained ministry has a radical
"communitarian form" and can only be carried out as "a
collective work."(30) The Council dealt extensively with this communal
aspect of the nature of the priesthood, (31) examining in succession the
relationship of the priest with his own bishop, with other priests and with the
lay faithful.

The ministry of priests is above all communion and a
responsible and necessary cooperation with the bishop's ministry, in concern
for the universal Church and for the individual particular churches, for whose
service they form with the bishop a single presbyterate.

Each priest, whether diocesan or religious, is united to the
other members of this presbyterate on the basis of the sacrament of holy orders
and by particular bonds of apostolic charity, ministry and fraternity All
priests in fact, whether diocesan or religious, share in the one priesthood of
Christ the head and shepherd; "they work for the same cause, namely, the
building up of the body of Christ, which demands a variety of functions and new
adaptations, especially at the present time,"(32) and is enriched down the
centuries by ever new charisms.

Finally, because their role and task within the Church do
not replace but promote the baptismal priesthood of the entire People of God,
leading it to its full ecclesial realization, priests have a positive and
helping relationship to the laity. Priests are there to serve the faith, hope
and charity of the laity. They recognize and uphold, as brothers and friends,
the dignity of the laity as children of God and help them to exercise fully
their specific role in the overall context of the Church's mission.(33) The
ministerial priesthood conferred by the sacrament of holy orders and the common
or "royal" priesthood of the faithful, which differ essentially and
not only in degree,(34) are ordered one to the other - for each in its own way
derives from the one priesthood of Christ. Indeed, the ministerial priesthood
does not of itself signify a greater degree of holiness with regard to the
common priesthood of the faithful; through it Christ gives to priests, in the
Spirit, a particular gift so that they can help the People of God to exercise
faithfully and fully the common priesthood which it has received.(35)

18. As the Council points out, "the spiritual gift
which priests have received in ordination does not prepare them merely for a
limited and circumscribed mission, but for the fullest, in fact the universal,
mission of salvation to the end of the earth. The reason is that every priestly
ministry shares in the fullness of the mission entrusted by Christ to the
apostles."(36) By the very nature of their ministry they should therefore
be penetrated and animated by a profound missionary spirit and "with that
truly Catholic spirit which habitually looks beyond the boundaries of diocese,
country or rite to meet the needs of the whole Church, being prepared in spirit
to preach the Gospel everywhere."(37)

Furthermore, precisely because within the Church's life the
priest is a man of communion, in his relations with all people he must be a man
of mission and dialogue. Deeply rooted in the truth and charity of Christ, and
impelled by the desire and imperative to proclaim Christ's salvation to all,
the priest is called to witness in all his relationships to fraternity, service
and a common quest for the truth, as well as a concern for the promotion of
justice and peace. This is the case above all with the brethren of other
churches and Christian denominations, but it also extends to the followers of
other religions, to people of good will and in particular to the poor and the
defenseless, and to all who yearn - even if they do not know it or cannot
express it - for the truth and the salvation of Christ, in accordance with the
words of Jesus who said: "Those who are well have no need of a physician,
but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners"
(Mk. 2:17).

Today, in particular, the pressing pastoral task of the new
evangelization calls for the involvement of the entire People of God, and
requires a new fervor, new methods and a new expression for the announcing and
witnessing of the Gospel. This task demands priests who are deeply and fully
immersed in the mystery of Christ and capable of embodying a new style of
pastoral life, marked by a profound communion with the pope, the bishops and
other priests, and a fruitful cooperation with the lay faithful, always
respecting and fostering the different roles, charisms and ministries present
within the ecclesial community.(38)

"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing" (Lk. 4:2 1). Let us listen once again to these words of Jesus in
the light of the ministerial priesthood which we have presented in its nature
and mission. The "today" to which Jesus refers, precisely because it
belongs to and defines the "fullness of time," the time of full and
definitive salvation, indicates the time of the Church. The consecration and
mission of Christ - "The Spirit of the Lord...has anointed me and has sent
me to preach good news to the poor" (cf. Lk. 4:18)
- are the living branch from which bud the consecration and mission of the
Church, the "fullness" of Christ (cf. Eph. 1:23). In the rebirth of baptism, the Spirit of the Lord is
poured out on all believers, consecrating them as a spiritual temple and a holy
priesthood and sending them forth to make known the marvels of him who out of
darkness has called them into his marvelous light (cf. 1 Pt. 2:4-10). The
priest shares in Christ's consecration and mission in a specific and
authoritative way, through the sacrament of holy orders, by virtue of which he
is configured in his being to Jesus Christ, head and shepherd, and shares in
the mission of "preaching the good news to the poor" in the name and
person of Christ himself.

In their final message the synod fathers summarized briefly
but eloquently the "truth," or better the "mystery" and
"gift" of the ministerial priesthood, when they stated: "We
derive our identity ultimately from the love of the Father, we turn our gaze to
the Son, sent by the Father as high priest and good shepherd. Through the power
of the Holy Spirit, we are united sacramentally to him in the ministerial
priesthood. Our priestly life and activity continue the life and activity of
Christ himself. Here lies our identity, our true dignity, the source of our
joy, the very basis of our life."(39)

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Prayer for Priests

"O my Jesus, I beg You on behalf of the whole Church: Grant it love and the light of Your Spirit, and give power to the words of Priests so that hardened hearts might be brought to repentance and return to You, O Lord. Lord, give us holy Priests; You yourself maintain them in holiness. O Divine and Great High Priest, may the power of Your mercy accompany them everywhere and protect them from the devil's traps and snares which are continually being set for the souls of Priests.

May the power of Your mercy, O Lord, shatter and bring to naught all that might tarnish the sanctity of Priests, for You can do all things." ~~ St. Faustina's Diary #1052